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Church History

On August 17, 1883, a council composed of eight men – Rev. J.K. Mendenhall, S.S. Knight, Graves L. Knight, C.P. Nelson, E.N. Garrett, H. Vaughn, J.J. Shumute, and Martin Wood – met for the purpose of organizing a Baptist church in the Babbtown or “Greenpond” community. This church would come to be known as Beulah. People came from the surrounding areas with their letters of membership from Poplar Springs, Rabon Creek, Fountain Inn, and other Baptist churches. Rev. H.K. Ezell was called as the Church’s first pastor and the first deacons elected to serve the growing congregation were Thomas Babb, J.H. Nash, and Robert Coleman. On February 18, 1884, a two acre tract of land was given by L.P. Armstrong on which the church would gather and later construct its first buildings.

A Sunday School was organized for the church beginning on the second Sunday of March 1884. A weekly prayer meeting was established later that year on July 19, 1884. On July 11, 1891, a motion was made and approved to light the church building. A collection was taken at the next church conference for the purpose of purchasing lamps for the church. The congregation selected the Baptist Hymn Book from which to worship in July 1895.

Since the time of its founding, Beulah had been a member of the Reedy River Association. However, in 1897, the church withdrew and became a member of the Laurens Baptist Association. On September 9, 1905, Rev. G.W. Bussey was elected to serve as Beulah’s pastor indefinitely. Until this time, each pastor had been elected by the congregation to serve for one year only.

In the early 1940s, even with the threat of war looming around the world, Beulah continued to prosper. On October 29, 1940, the church borrowed one thousand dollars for the purpose of erecting a new church building. Plans were adopted and on January 5, 1941, construction began. While its new building was being finished, the church met in the Greenpond School House. On September 21, 1942, the congregation moved into their new house of worship.

Nearly a decade later, the congregation voted to construct a pastorium to serve the church’s pastor, and on June 4, 1951, Rev. Wingard Berry and his family moved in to the newly built parsonage. On September 14, 1958, the congregation voted to call Rev. Berry to be the church’s first full-time pastor. Prior to this time, the church had shared its pastor with Rabon Creek Baptist Church.

On September 6, 1959, a study committee presented plans for a new educational building to serve the growing needs of the church. A groundbreaking ceremony for the new building was held on October 18, 1959, and was occupied for the first time on April 3, 1960. In addition to new Sunday School rooms, indoor restrooms, a heating system, new songbooks, pews, and pulpit furniture were also added at this time.

A few short years later, Beulah again found itself in need of new space to serve its growing congregation. On July 18, 1965, the church voted to build a new sanctuary complete with all the furnishings, including an indoor baptistery, a new heating system and for the first time, air-conditioning. It was also planned to add chimes to the church steeple.

The congregation voted on April 15, 1984 to remove the church building that was completed in the 1940s. This made way for a new educational building, complete with a larger fellowship hall, a kitchen, and offices to serve the needs of the growing church. On May 19, 1991 the congregation voted and approved a project to renovate the church’s sanctuary, including new fixtures and carpet and refurbished pews. New stained glass windows were also installed in the sanctuary at this time. In 1999, additional renovations were completed to the building and parking lot areas to add a covered drive-thru and to improve the accessibility of the church’s facilities. In the spring of 2002, the pulpit area and choir loft was renovated and a multi-media projector system was installed for the first time. A digital marquee sign was added in front of the church in 2016 to help spread the word of all the events taking place at Beulah

During its more than 130 years of existence, there have been 47 ministers of Beulah Baptist Church. These men have guided our congregation through numerous wars and conflicts. Five men have been called into full-time Christian ministry from Beulah: O.G. Hicks on June 11, 1904, Felton Cox on June 15, 1962, John Baughn on March 16, 2003, Chris Sullivan in 2008, and Brandon Amick in 2008. The church is missions focused, has been involved in numerous local, state-side, and international mission trips, and helps support the full-time ministry of several missionaries around the world. A church in India even bears the name “Beulah” because of the work of Christ through our congregation.

For well over a century, Beulah Baptist Church has stood at the crossroads of the Greenpond community. Our membership has grown from twenty-nine charter members to more than five hundred today. Though our congregation has grown, our focus still remains the same: To Minister Thru Chris for Life’s Crossroads.